Systems and methods for restricting the use of a vehicle operator&#39;s electronic device

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods for restricting the use of vehicle operator&#39;s electronic device are provided. In a method by a telematics server, the server determines that a vehicle&#39;s engine is running and that the operator registered with the vehicle is in the driver&#39;s seat. In response, the server sends a message to the vehicle operator&#39;s electronic device for disabling at least one feature thereof. In a method by a vehicle operator&#39;s electronic device, the electronic device determines that the vehicle is running and that the operator is in the driver&#39;s seat. In response, the electronic device disables at least one feature thereof. The systems and methods can be used to discourage or restrict the use of electronic devices by drivers sitting in a vehicle with the engine running in accordance with laws in certain jurisdictions.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to electronic devicemanagement, and more specifically to systems and methods for restrictingthe use of a vehicle operator's electronic device.

BACKGROUND

A telematics system may gather asset data using a telematics device. Thetelematics device may be integrated into or located onboard the asset.The asset may be a vehicle (“vehicular asset”) or some stationaryequipment. The telematics device may collect the asset data from theasset through a data connection with the asset. In the case of avehicular asset, the telematics device may gather the asset data throughan onboard diagnostic port (OBD). The gathered asset data may includeengine revolutions-per-minute (RPM), battery voltage, fuel level, tirepressure, engine coolant temperature, or any other asset data availablethrough the diagnostic port. Additionally, the telematics device maygather sensor data pertaining to the asset via sensors on the telematicsdevice. For example, the telematics device may have temperature andpressure sensors, inertial measurement units (IMU), optical sensors, andthe like. Furthermore, the telematics device may gather location datapertaining to the asset from a location module on the telematics device.When the telematics device is coupled to the asset, the gathered sensordata and location data pertain to the asset. The gathered asset data,sensor data and location data may be received and recorded by atechnical infrastructure of the telematics system, such as a telematicsserver, and used in the provision of fleet management tools, fortelematics services, or for further data analysis.

SUMMARY

In one aspect of the present disclosure there is provided a method by atelematics server. The method includes determining that a vehicle'sengine in a vehicle is running, determining that a vehicle operatorregistered with the vehicle is in a driver's seat of the vehicle, andsending a message to an electronic device of the vehicle operatordisabling at least one feature of the electronic device in response todetermining that the vehicle's engine is running and determining thatthe vehicle operator is in the driver's seat of the vehicle.

Determining that the vehicle's engine is running may comprise receivingan indication that the vehicle's engine is running from a telematicsdevice deployed in the vehicle.

The indication may comprise a revolutions-per-minute (RPM) which isgreater than zero or a signal indicating that an Electric Vehicle (EV)is active.

Determining that the vehicle operator registered with the vehicle is inthe driver's seat may comprise determining that a current time is withinhours of service (HOS) of the vehicle operator and determining that theelectronic device of the vehicle operator is generally stationary.

Determining that the vehicle operator registered with the vehicle is inthe driver's seat may comprise determining that a current time is withinhours of service (HOS) of the vehicle operator and detecting a presenceof an occupant in a driver's seat of the vehicle.

Detecting a presence of an occupant in a driver's seat of the vehiclemay comprise receiving, from a telematics device coupled to the vehicle,an indication that a driver's seatbelt is fastened.

Detecting a presence of an occupant in a driver's seat of the vehiclemay comprise receiving, from a telematics device coupled to the vehicle,an indication of a recent interaction with a steering wheel of thevehicle.

Determining that a vehicle operator registered with the vehicle is in adriver's seat of the vehicle may comprise receiving, from a telematicsdevice coupled to the vehicle, an indication that a dashboard camera hascaptured an image of vehicle operator registered with the vehicle.

Determining that a vehicle operator registered with the vehicle is in adriver's seat of the vehicle may comprise receiving, from a telematicsdevice coupled to the vehicle, an indication that a fingerprint sensordisposed on a steering wheel of the vehicle can detect a fingerprint ofthe vehicle operator registered with the vehicle.

Determining that the vehicle operator registered with the vehicle is inthe driver's seat may comprise determining that a location of theelectronic device of the vehicle operator is in close proximity to alocation of the vehicle and determining that the electronic device ofthe vehicle operator is generally stationary.

Determining that the electronic device of the vehicle operator isgenerally stationary may comprise receiving inertial motion unit (IMU)data from the electronic device and determining that the IMU data isbelow a particular threshold. The IMU data may comprise accelerometerdata.

Determining that the electronic device of the vehicle operator isgenerally stationary may comprise receiving inertial motion unit (IMU)data from the electronic device and determining that the IMU data doesnot match a pattern indicative that the vehicle operator is inspectingthe vehicle.

Determining that the IMU data does not match a pattern indicative thatthe vehicle operator is inspecting the vehicle may involve providing theIMU data to a machine learning model

Determining that the location of the electronic device of the vehicleoperator is in close proximity to the location of the vehicle maycomprise receiving the location of the electronic device from theelectronic device; receiving the location of the vehicle from atelematics device deployed in the vehicle and determining that adistance between the location of the electronic device and the locationof the vehicle is less than a particular threshold.

Determining that the location of the electronic device of the vehicleoperator is in close proximity to the location of the vehicle comprisesreceiving an indication from the electronic device of the vehicleoperator that the electronic device of the vehicle operator is connectedto the vehicle via a short-range communications connection.

Determining that the location of the electronic device of the vehicleoperator is in close proximity to the location of the vehicle maycomprise receiving an indication from the electronic device of thevehicle operator that the electronic device of the vehicle operator isconnected to a telematics device coupled to the vehicle via ashort-range communications connection.

The short-range communications connection may comprise a Bluetoothconnection.

Determining that the location of the electronic device of the vehicleoperator is in close proximity to the location of the vehicle maycomprise receiving an indication from a telematics device of anear-field communications (NFC) tap by a tag of the vehicle operatorwithin a prior period of time

Sending a message to an electronic device of the vehicle operatorrestricting at least one feature of the electronic device may comprisesending a message which causes the electronic device of the vehicleoperator to disable all features except for an ability to make anemergency call.

Sending a message to an electronic device of the vehicle operatorrestricting at least one feature of the electronic device comprisessending a message which causes the electronic device of the vehicleoperator to securely lock the electronic device.

Sending a message to an electronic device of the vehicle operatorrestricting at least one feature of the electronic device may be donewhen a location of the vehicle is outside at least one predeterminedgeofence.

Sending a message to an electronic device of the vehicle operatorrestricting at least one feature of the electronic device may be donewhen an image indication received from the vehicle indicates that thevehicle is not at a particular type of location.

The image indication may comprise an image received from a dashboardcamera.

Sending a message to an electronic device of the vehicle operatorrestricting at least one feature of the electronic device may be doneafter a grace period since cranking of the vehicle's engine has expired.

The grace period may expire in response to detecting motion of thevehicle.

Sending a message to an electronic device of the vehicle operatorrestricting at least one feature of the electronic device may be donewhen a particular mode is enabled for the vehicle.

In another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided atelematics server comprising a controller, a network interface coupledto the controller, and a memory coupled to the controller. The memorystores machine-executable instructions which when executed by thecontroller configure the telematics server to determine that a vehicle'sengine of a vehicle is running, determine that a vehicle operatorregistered with the vehicle is in a driver's seat of the vehicle, andsend a message to an electronic device of the vehicle operator, themessage restricting at least one feature of the electronic device inresponse to determining that the vehicle's engine is running anddetermining that the vehicle operator is in the driver's seat of thevehicle.

In yet another aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided amethod by an electronic device. The method comprises determining that avehicle's engine of a vehicle is running, determining that a vehicleoperator registered with the vehicle is in a driver's seat of thevehicle, and disabling at least one feature of the electronic device inresponse to determining that the vehicle's engine is running anddetermining that the vehicle operator is in the driver's seat of thevehicle.

Determining that the vehicle's engine is running may comprise receiving,over a short-range communications connection from a telematics devicedeployed in the vehicle an indication that the vehicle's engine isrunning.

The indication comprises a revolutions-per-minute (RPM) which is greaterthan zero.

Determining that the vehicle operator registered with the vehicle is inthe driver's seat may comprise determining that a current time is withinhours of service (HOS) of the vehicle operator and determining that theelectronic device of the vehicle operator is generally stationary.

Determining that the vehicle operator registered with the vehicle is inthe driver's seat may comprise determining that a current time is withinhours of service (HOS) of the vehicle operator and detecting a presenceof an occupant in a driver's seat of the vehicle.

Detecting a presence of an occupant in a driver's seat of the vehiclemay comprise receiving, from a telematics device coupled to the vehicle,an indication that a driver's seatbelt is fastened.

Determining that the vehicle operator registered with the vehicle is inthe driver's seat may comprise determining that a location of theelectronic device of the vehicle operator is in close proximity to alocation of the vehicle and determining that the electronic device ofthe vehicle operator is generally stationary.

Determining that the electronic device of the vehicle operator isgenerally stationary may comprise receiving inertial measurement unit(IMU) data from IMU sensors in the electronic device and determiningthat the electronic device of the vehicle operator is generallystationary if the IMU data is below a particular threshold.

Determining that the location of the electronic device of the vehicleoperator is in close proximity to the location of the vehicle maycomprise determining that the electronic device of the vehicle operatoris connected to the vehicle via a short-range communications connection.

Determining that the location of the electronic device of the vehicleoperator is in close proximity to the location of the vehicle maycomprise determining that the electronic device of the vehicle operatoris connected to a telematics device coupled to the vehicle via ashort-range communications connection.

Determining that the location of the electronic device of the vehicleoperator is in close proximity to the location of the vehicle maycomprise determining that the electronic device of the vehicle operatoris connected, via a short-range communications connection to an I/Oexpansion adapter coupled to a telematics device which is coupled to thevehicle.

The short-range communications connection may comprise a Bluetoothconnection.

Disabling at least one feature of the electronic device may comprisedisabling all features of the electronic device except for an ability tomake an emergency call.

Disabling at least one feature of the electronic device comprisessecurely locking the electronic device.

In a further aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided anelectronic device comprising a controller, a network interface coupledto the controller, and a memory coupled to the controller. The memorystores machine-executable programming instructions which when executedby the controller, configure the electronic device to determine that avehicle's engine is running, determine that a vehicle operatorregistered with the vehicle is in a driver's seat of the vehicle, anddisable at least one feature of the electronic device in response todetermining that the vehicle's engine is running and determining thatthe vehicle operator is in the driver's seat of the vehicle

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Exemplary non-limiting embodiments of the present invention aredescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a telematics system including aplurality of telematics devices coupled to a plurality of assets;

FIG. 2A is a block diagram showing a telematics device coupled to anasset;

FIG. 2B is a block diagram showing a telematics device coupled to anasset and to an input/output (I/O) expander;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an asset having a telematics deviceintegrated therein and an I/O expander coupled thereto;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an operator terminal, in accordance withembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a telematics server, in accordance withembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of a method, by a telematics server, forrestricting the use of a vehicle operator's electronic device, inaccordance with embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a message sequence diagram of a method for restricting the useof a vehicle operator's electronic device, in accordance withembodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 8 is a flow chart of a method, by a vehicle operator's electronicdevice, for restricting the use of the vehicle operator's electronicdevice, in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Telematics System

A large telematics system may collect data from a high number of assets,either directly or through telematic devices. A telematics device mayrefer to a self-contained device installed at an asset, or a telematicsdevice that is integrated into the asset itself. In either case, it maybe said that telematics data is being captured or gathered by thetelematics device. FIG. 1 shows a high-level block diagram of atelematics system 101. The telematics system 101 includes a telematicsserver 300, (N) telematics devices shown as telematics device 200_1,telematics device 200_2 . . . through telematics device 200_N(“telematics device 200”), a network 50, administration terminals 410and 410, and operator terminals 450_1, 450_2 . . . through 450_N(“operator terminals 450”). FIG. 1 also shows a plurality of (N) assetsnamed as asset 100_1, asset 100_2 . . . asset 100_N (“asset 100”)coupled to the telematics device 200_1, telematics device 200_2 . . .telematics device 200_N, respectively. Additionally, FIG. 1 shows aplurality of satellites 170_1, 170_2 and 170_3 (“satellites 170”) incommunication with the telematics devices 200 for facilitatingnavigation.

The assets 100 shown are in the form of vehicles. For example, the asset100_1 is shown as a truck, which may be part of a fleet that deliversgoods or provides services. The asset 100_2 is shown as a passenger carthat typically runs on an internal combustion engine (ICE). The asset100_3 is shown as an electric vehicle (EV). Other types of vehicles,which are not shown, are also contemplated in the various embodiments ofthe present disclosure, including but not limited to, farming vehicles,construction vehicles, military vehicles, and the like.

The telematics devices 200 are electronic devices which are coupled toassets 100 and configured to capture asset data from the assets 100. Forexample, in FIG. 1 the telematics device 200_1 is coupled to the asset100_1. Similarly, the telematics device 200_2 is coupled to the asset100_2 and the telematics device 200_3 is coupled to the asset 100_3. Thecomponents of a telematics device 200 are explained in further detailwith reference to FIG. 2A.

The network 50 may be a single network or a combination of networks suchas a data cellular network, the Internet, and other networktechnologies. The network 50 may provide connectivity between thetelematics devices 200 and the telematics server 300, between theadministration terminal 400 and the telematics server 300, between thehandheld administration terminal 410 and the telematics server 300, andbetween the operator terminals 450 and the telematics server 300.

The telematics server 300 is an electronic device executingmachine-executable programming instructions which enable the telematicsserver 300 to store and analyze telematics data. The telematics server300 may be a single computer system or a cluster of computers. Thetelematics server 300 may be running an operating system such as Linux,Windows, Unix, or any other equivalent operating system. Alternatively,the telematics server 300 may be a software component hosted on a cloudservice, such as Amazon Web Service (AWS). The telematics server 300 isconnected to the network 50 and may receive telematics data from thetelematics devices 200. The telematics server 300 may have a pluralityof software modules for performing data analysis and analytics on thetelematics data to obtain useful asset information about the assets 100.The telematics server 300 may be coupled to a telematics database 310for storing telematics data and/or the results of the analytics whichare related to the assets 100. The asset information stored may includeoperator information about the operators 10 corresponding to the assets.The telematics server 300 may communicate the asset data and/or theoperator information pertaining to an asset 100 to one or more of: theadministration terminal 400, the handheld administration terminal 410,and the operator terminal 450.

The satellites 170 may be part of a global navigation satellite system(GNSS) and may provide location information to the telematics devices200. The location information may be processed by a location module onthe telematics device 200 to provide location data indicating thelocation of the telematics device 200 (and hence the location of theasset 100 coupled thereto). A telematics device 200 that canperiodically report an asset's location is often termed an “assettracking device”.

The administration terminal 400 is an electronic device, which may beused to connect to the telematics server 300 to retrieve data andanalytics related to one or more assets 100 or to issue commands to oneor more telematics device 200 via the telematics server 300. Theadministration terminal 400 may be a desktop computer, a laptop computersuch as the administration terminal 400, a tablet (not shown), or asmartphone such as the handheld administration terminal 410. Theadministration terminal 400 may run a web browser or a customapplication which allows retrieving data and analytics, pertaining toone or more assets 100, from the telematics server 300 via a webinterface of the telematics server 300. The handheld administrationterminal 410 may run a mobile application for communicating with thetelematics server 300, the mobile application allowing retrieving dataand analytics therefrom. The mobile application of the handheldadministration terminal may also be used to issue commands to one ormore telematics device 200 via the telematics server 300. A fleetmanager 20 may communicate with the telematics server 300 using theadministration terminal 400, the handheld administration terminal 410,or another form of administration terminals such as a tablet. Inaddition to retrieving data and analytics, the administration terminal400 allows the fleet manager 20 to set alerts and geofences for keepingtrack of the assets 100, receiving notifications of deliveries, and soon.

The operator terminals 450 are electronic devices, such as smartphonesor tablets. The operator terminals 450 are used by operators 10 (forexample, vehicle drivers) of the assets 100 to both track and configurethe usage of the assets 100. For example, as shown in FIG. 1 , theoperator 10_1 has the operator terminal 450_1, the operator 10_2 has theoperator terminal 450_2, and the operator 10_N has the operator terminal450_N. Assuming the operators 10 all belong to a fleet of vehicles, eachof the operators 10 may operate any of the assets 100. For example, FIG.1 shows that the operator 10_1 is associated with the asset 100_1, theoperator 10_2 is associated with the asset 100_2, and the operator 10_Nis associated with the asset 100_N. However, any operator 10 may operateany asset 100 within a particular group of assets, such as a fleet. Theoperator terminals 450 are in communication with the telematics server300 over the network 50. The operator terminals 450 may run at least oneasset configuration application. The asset configuration application maybe used by an operator 10 to inform the telematics server 300 that theasset 100 is being currently operated by the operator 10. For example,the operator 10_2 may use an asset configuration application on theoperator terminal 450_2 to indicate that the operator 10_2 is currentlyusing the asset 100_2. The telematics server 300 updates the telematicsdatabase 310 to indicate that the asset 100_2 is currently associatedwith the operator 10_2. Additionally, the asset configurationapplication may be used to report information related to the operationduration of the vehicle, the number of stops made by the operator duringtheir working shift, and so on. Furthermore, the asset configurationapplication may allow the operator to configure the telematics device200 coupled to the asset 100 that the operator 10 is operating.

In operation, a telematics device 200 is coupled to an asset 100 tocapture asset data. The asset data may be combined with location dataobtained by the telematics device 200 from a location module incommunication with the satellites 170 and/or sensor data gathered fromsensors in the telematics device 200 or another device coupled to thetelematics device 200. The combined asset data, location data, andsensor data may be termed “telematics data”. The telematics device 200sends the telematics data, to the telematics server 300 over the network50. The telematics server 300 may process, aggregate, and analyze thetelematics data to generate asset information pertaining to the assets100 or to a fleet of assets. The telematics server 300 may store thetelematics data and/or the generated asset information in the telematicsdatabase 310. The administration terminal 400 may connect to thetelematics server 300, over the network 50, to access the generatedasset information. Alternatively, the telematics server 300 may push thegenerated asset information to the administration terminal 400.Additionally, the operators 10, using their operator terminals 450, mayindicate to the telematics server 300 which assets 100 they areassociated with. The telematics server 300 updates the telematicsdatabase 310 accordingly to associate the operator 10 with the asset100. Furthermore, the telematics server 300 may provide additionalanalytics related to the operators 10 including work time, location, andoperating parameters. For example, for vehicle assets, the telematicsdata may include turning, speeding, and braking information. Thetelematics server 300 can correlate the telematics data to the vehicle'sdriver by querying the asset database 310. A fleet manager 20 may usethe administration terminal 400 to set alerts for certain activitiespertaining to the assets 100. When criteria for an alert is met, thetelematics server 300 sends a message to the fleet manager'sadministration terminal 400, and may optionally send alerts to theoperator terminal 450 to notify an operator 10 of the alert. Forexample, a vehicle driver operating the vehicle outside of a servicearea or hours of service may receive an alert on their operator terminal450. A fleet manager 20 may also the administration terminal 400 toconfigure a telematics device 200 by issuing commands thereto via thetelematics server 300.

Telematics Device

Further details relating to the telematics device 200 and how itinterfaces with an asset 100 are shown with reference to FIG. 2A. FIG.2A depicts an asset 100 and a telematics device 200 coupled thereto.Selected relevant components of each of the asset 100 and the telematicsdevice 200 are shown.

The asset 100 may have a plurality of electronic control units (ECUs).An ECU is an electronic module which interfaces with one or more sensorsfor gathering information from the asset 100. For example, an oiltemperature ECU may contain a temperature sensor and a controller forconverting the measured temperature into digital data representative ofthe oil temperature. Similarly, a battery voltage ECU may contain avoltage sensor for measuring the voltage at the positive batteryterminal and a controller for converting the measured voltage intodigital data representative of the battery voltage. A vehicle may, forexample, have around seventy ECUs. For simplicity, only a few of theECUs 110 are depicted in FIG. 2A. For example, in the depictedembodiment the asset 100 has three electronic control units: ECU 110A,ECU 110B, and ECU 110C (“ECUs 110”). The ECU 110A, the ECU 110B, and theECU 110C are shown to be interconnected via an asset communications bus,such as a Controller Area Network (CAN) bus 150. ECUs 110 interconnectedusing the CAN bus 150 send and receive information to one another in CANdata frames by placing the information on the CAN bus 150. When an ECUplaces information on the CAN bus 150, other ECUs 110 receive theinformation and may or may not consume or use that information.Different protocols may be used to exchange information between the ECUsover a CAN bus. For example, ECUs 110 in trucks and heavy vehicles usethe Society of Automotive Engineering (SAE) J1939 protocol to exchangeinformation over a CAN bus 150. Most passenger vehicles use the SAEJ1979 protocol, which is commonly known as On-Board Diagnostic (OBD)protocol to exchange information between ECUs 110 on their CAN bus 150.In industrial automation, ECUs use a CANOpen protocol to exchangeinformation over a CAN bus 150. An asset 100 may allow access toinformation exchanged over the CAN bus 150 via an interface port 102.For example, if the asset 100 is a passenger car, then the interfaceport 102 is most likely an OBD-II port. Data accessible through theinterface port 102 is termed the asset data 112. In some embodiments,the interface port 102 includes a power interface for providing electricpower to a telematics device 200 connected thereto.

The telematics device 200 includes a controller 230 coupled to a memory240, an interface layer 210 and a network interface 220. The telematicsdevice 200 also includes one or more sensors 204 and a location module206 coupled to the interface layer 210. The telematics device 200 mayalso contain some optional components, shown in dashed lines in FIG. 2A.For example, the telematics device 200 may contain one or more of: anear-field communications (NFC) module such as NFC module 560, ashort-range wireless communications module 270, and a wiredcommunications module such as a serial communications module 280. Insome embodiments (not shown), the telematics device 200 may have adedicated power source or a battery. In other embodiments, thetelematics device 200 may receive power directly from the asset 100, viathe interface port 102. The telematics device 200 shown is an example.Some of the components shown in solid lines may also be optional and maybe implemented in separate modules. For example, some telematics devices(not shown) may not have a location module 206 and may rely on anexternal location module for obtaining the location data 207. Sometelematics devices may not have any sensors 204 and may rely on externalsensors for obtaining sensor data 205.

The controller 230 may include one or any combination of a processor,microprocessor, microcontroller (MCU), central processing unit (CPU),processing core, state machine, logic gate array, application-specificintegrated circuit (ASIC), field-programmable gate array (FPGA), orsimilar, capable of executing, whether by software, hardware, firmware,or a combination of such, the actions performed by the controller 230 asdescribed herein. The controller 230 may have an internal memory forstoring machine-executable programming instructions to carry out themethods described herein.

The memory 240 may include read-only-memory (ROM), random access memory(RAM), flash memory, magnetic storage, optical storage, and similar, orany combination thereof, for storing machine-executable programminginstructions and data to support the functionality described herein. Thememory 240 is coupled to the controller 230 thus enabling the controller230 to execute the machine-executable programming instructions stored inthe memory 240 and to access the data stored therein. The memory 240 maycontain machine-executable programming instructions, which when executedby the controller 230, configures the telematics device 200 forreceiving asset data 112 from the asset 100 via the asset interface 202,and for receiving sensor data 205 from the sensors 204 and/or locationdata 207 from the location module 206 via the sensor interface 208. Thememory 240 may also contain machine-executable programming instructionsfor combining asset data 112, sensor data 205 and location data 207 intotelematics data 212. Additionally, the memory 240 may further containinstructions which, when executed by the controller 230, configures thetelematics device 200 to transmit the telematics data 212 via thenetwork interface 220 to a telematics server 300 over a network 50. Insome embodiments, the memory 240 only stores data, and themachine-executable programming instructions for carrying out theaforementioned tasks are stored in an internal memory of the controller230.

The location module 206 may be a global positioning system (GPS)transceiver or another type of location determination peripheral thatmay use, for example, wireless network information for locationdetermination. The location module 206 is coupled to the controller 230and provides location data 207 thereto. The location data 207 may be inthe form of a latitude and longitude, for example.

The sensors 204 may be one or more of: a temperature sensor, a pressuresensor, an optical sensor, a motion sensor such as an accelerometer, agyroscope, or any other suitable sensor indicating a conditionpertaining to the asset 100 to which the telematics device 200 iscoupled. The sensors provide sensor data 205 to the controller 230 viathe sensor interface 208.

The interface layer 210 may include a sensor interface 208 and an assetinterface 202. The sensor interface 208 is configured for receiving thesensor data 205 from the sensors 204. For example, the sensor interface208 interfaces with the sensors 204 and receives the sensor data 205therefrom. The asset interface 202 receives asset data 112 from theasset 100. In the depicted embodiment, the asset interface 202 iscoupled to the interface port 102 of the asset 100. The asset data 112,received at the telematics device 200, from the asset 100 may be in theform of data messages, such as CAN data frames. The asset data 112 maydescribe one or more of any of: a property, a state, and an operatingcondition of the asset 100. For example, where the asset 100 is avehicle, the data may describe the speed at which the vehicle istravelling, a state of the vehicle (off, idle, or running), or an engineoperating condition (e.g., engine oil temperature, enginerevolutions-per-minutes (RPM), or a battery voltage). In addition toreceiving the asset data 112, in some embodiments the asset interface202 may also receive power from the asset 100 via the interface port102. The interface layer 210 is coupled to the controller 230 andprovides both the asset data 112 and the sensor data 205 to thecontroller 230.

The network interface 220 may include a cellular modem, such as an LTE-Mmodem, CAT-M modem, other cellular modem, Wi-Fi modem, or any othercommunication device configured for communication via the network 50with which to communicate with the telematics server 300. The networkinterface 220 may be used to transmit telematics data 212 obtained fromthe asset 100 to the telematics server 300 for a telematics service orother purposes. The network interface 220 may also be used to receiveinstructions from the telematics server 300 for configuring thetelematics device 200 in a certain mode and/or requesting a particulartype of the asset data 112 from the asset 100.

The NFC module 260 may be an NFC reader which can read informationstored on an NFC tag. The NFC module 260 may be used to confirm theidentity of the operator 10 by having the operator 10 tap an NFC tagonto the telematics device 200 such that the NFC tag is read by the NFCmodule 260. The information read from the NFC tag may be included in thetelematics data 212 sent by the telematics device 200 to the telematicsserver 300.

The short-range wireless communications module 270 is a componentintended for providing short-range wireless communication capability tothe telematics device 200. The short-range wireless communicationsmodule 270 may be a Bluetooth™. wireless fidelity (Wi-Fi), Zigbee™, orany other short-range wireless communications module. The short-rangewireless communications module 270 allows other devices to communicatewith the telematics device 200 over a short-range wireless network.

The serial communications module 280 is an example of a wiredcommunications module. The serial communications module 280 is anelectronic peripheral for providing serial wired communications to thetelematics device 200. For example, the serial communications module 280may include a universal asynchronous receiver transmitter (UART)providing serial communications per the RS-232 protocol. Alternatively,the serial communications module 280 may be a serial peripheralinterface (SPI) bus, or an inter-integrated circuit (I²C) bus. Asanother example, the serial communications module 280 may be a universalserial bus (USB) transceiver.

In operation, an ECU 110, such as the ECU 110A, the ECU 110B, or the ECU110C communicates asset data over the CAN bus 150. The asset dataexchanged, between the ECUs 110, over the CAN bus 150 are accessible viathe interface port 102 and may be retrieved as the asset data 112 by thetelematics device 200. The controller 230 of the telematics device 200receives the asset data 112 via the asset interface 202. The controller230 may also receive sensor data 205 from the sensors 204 over thesensor interface 208. Furthermore, the controller 230 may receivelocation data 207 from the location module 206. The controller 230combines the asset data 112 with the sensor data 205 and the locationdata 207 to obtain the telematics data 212. The controller 230 transmitsthe telematics data 212 to the telematics server 300 over the network 50via the network interface 220. Optionally, an operator 10 may tap an NFCtag to the NFC module 260 to identify themself as the operator 10 of theasset 100. Additionally, an external peripheral, such as a GPS receiver,may connect with the telematics device 200 via the short-range wirelesscommunications module 270 or the serial communications module 280 forproviding location information thereto. In some embodiments, thetelematics device 200 may receive, via the network interface 220,commands from the telematics server 300. The received commands instructthe telematics device 200 to be configured in a particular way. Forexample, the received commands may configure the way in which thetelematics device gathers asset data 112 from the asset 100 as will bedescribed in further detail below.

The telematics data 212 which is comprised of asset data 112 gatheredfrom the asset 100 combined with the sensor data 205 and the locationdata 207 may be used to derive useful data and analytics, by thetelematics server 300. However, there are times when additional data,which is not provided by the asset 100, the sensors 204 or the locationmodule 206 may be needed. The telematics device 200 may have a limitednumber of sensors 204 such as accelerometers or gyroscopes providinglimited information about the motion of the asset 100 on which thetelematics device 200 is deployed. The location module 206 may providelocation and direction information. However, in some cases, moreinformation may be needed to derive useful data and analytics pertainingto the asset 100. One example of information that is not typicallyprovided by the telematics device 200 is video capture data. Anotherexample of information that is not typically provided by the telematicsdevice 200 is any proprietary signaling provided by devices which doesnot follow any of the standard protocols (OBD-II, J1939 or CANOpen).Some equipment may not have a CAN bus and may provide proprietarydigital and/or analog signals. Examples of such devices includeindustrial equipment, winter maintenance equipment such as saltspreaders, farming equipment, and the like. Additionally, the telematicsdevice 200 may not have an NFC module 260 or a short-range wirelesscommunications module 270 thus limiting its connectivity capabilities.

Input/Output Expander

To capture and provide information or services not provided by the asset100 or the telematics device, to produce an output, or to perform anaction not supported by the telematics device, the telematics device 200may be modified to allow an input/output expander device (“I/Oexpander”) to connect thereto, as shown in FIG. 2B. FIG. 2B shows atelematics device 200′ coupled to an asset 100. An I/O expander 500 iscoupled to the telematics device 200′.

The asset 100 is similar to the asset 100 of FIG. 2A and therefore theinternal components thereof are not shown in FIG. 2B for simplicity.

The telematics device 200′ has a somewhat similar configuration as thetelematics device 200 of FIG. 2A, but some of the optional componentshave been removed. Furthermore, the telematics device 200′ adds an I/Oexpander interface 250 for interfacing with the I/O expander 500. TheI/O expander interface 250 is coupled to the controller 230 and may beconfigured for exchanging I/O expander data 512 with the I/O expander500.

The I/O expander 500 of FIG. 2B is an example I/O expander which isdesigned to provide additional connectivity options to a telematicsdevice 200, which has more limited features than the one shown in FIG.2A. For example, the telematics device 200′ shown in FIG. 2B does nothave an NFC module, a short-range wireless communications module, or aserial communications module. Instead, the telematics device 200′ has anI/O expander interface 250.

The I/O expander 500 may be an input device configured to captureadditional data such as video frames, audio frames, or proprietarysignals and provide that data to the telematics device 200′.Alternatively, or additionally, the I/O expander 500 may be configuredas an output device and may include a display for displaying informationand/or an audio output device for broadcasting messages pertaining tothe asset 100.

An I/O expander 500, which connects with the telematics device 200′,varies in complexity depending on the purpose thereof. FIG. 2B shows anI/O expander 500 containing several components which may or may not allbe present in other I/O expanders. For example, the I/O expander 500includes a controller 530, an NFC module 260, an output device 540, ashort-range communications module 570, an image sensor (not shown), aserial communications module 580, an uplink interface 550 and a downlinkinterface 520.

The controller 530 may be similar to the controller 230. In someembodiments, the controller 530 is a microcontroller with versatile I/Ocapabilities. For example, the controller 530 may be a microcontrollerwhich has a plurality of I/O ports such as general-purpose inputs andoutputs (GPIOs), serial ports, analog inputs, and the like. In someembodiments, the controller 530 may have built-in persistent memory suchas flash memory on which machine-executable programming instructions forcarrying out the functionality of the I/O expander 500 may be stored. Inother embodiments, the controller 530 may be coupled to a persistentmemory module (not shown) that contains the machine-executableprogramming instructions for carrying out the functionality of the I/Oexpander 500. The controller 530 may also have built-in volatile memory,such as random-access memory (RAM) for storing data. Alternatively, theI/O expander 500 may be connected to an external volatile memory forstoring data.

The output device 540 receives data from the controller 530 and performsan output function. For example, the output device 540 may include adisplay for displaying information received from the controller 530. Asanother example, the output device 540 may include a speech synthesizerand a speaker for displaying audible information received from thecontroller 530. As yet another example, the output device 540 may be anoutput interface to a hardware device. For example, the output device540 may be a motor controller that interfaces to an electric motor.

The NFC module 560, short-range communications module 570, and theserial communications module 580 are similar to the NFC module 260,short-range wireless communications module 270, and the serialcommunications module 280 described above with reference to FIG. 2A.

The uplink interface 550 is an electronic peripheral interface coupledto the controller 530 and is used to provide data exchange and/or powercapabilities to the I/O expander 500. The uplink interface 550 allowsthe I/O expander 500 to transmit and receive I/O expander data. Theuplink interface 550 is configured to use the same protocol andsignaling as the I/O expander interface 250 of the telematics device200′. Accordingly, the I/O expander 500 may exchange the I/O expanderdata with the telematics device 200′. In some embodiments, the uplinkinterface 550 may also include power pins connected to correspondingpower pins in the I/O expander interface 250, thus allowing the I/Oexpander 500 to be powered via the telematics device 200′. In otherembodiments (not shown), the I/O expander 500 may have its own powersource instead of or in addition to the power provided by the telematicsdevice 200′ via the uplink interface 550.

The downlink interface 520 is an electronic peripheral interface coupledto the uplink interface 550. The downlink interface 520 is configured tointerface with the uplink interface 550 of another I/O expander 500 (aswill be described below). Allowing the uplink interface 550 to connectto the downlink interface 520 of another I/O expander 500 allows thedaisy chaining of I/O expanders 500.

Integrated Telematics Device

In the above-mentioned figures, a telematics device is shown as aseparate entity connected with a corresponding asset. The telematicsdevice, however, may have its components integrated into the asset 100at the time of manufacture of the asset 100. This may be the case whenthe asset 100 is a connected car having an asset network interface. Forexample, with reference to FIG. 3 , there is shown an asset 100′ withthe components of a telematics device integrated therein, in accordancewith embodiments of the present disclosure. The asset 100′ is similar tothe asset 100 but, being a connected asset such as a connected car, ithas an asset network interface 122. In the depicted embodiment, thecontroller 230 is directly connected to the asset communications bus,which is a CAN bus 150 and may directly obtain the asset data 112therefrom. The sensors 204 and the location module 206 are alsointegrated into the asset 100 and provide the sensor data 205 and thelocation data 207 to the controller 230 as described above. The assetnetwork interface 122 belongs to the asset 100′ and may be used by theasset 100 to communicate with an original equipment manufacturer (OEM)server, to a roadside assistance server, or for other purposes. Thecontroller 230 may utilize the asset network interface 122 for thetransmission of telematics data 212 provided by the controller 230. Inorder to support further not provided by the integrated peripherals suchas the sensors 204 and the location module 206, the asset has an I/Oexpander interface 250 coupled to the controller 230 so that an I/Oexpander 500 may be connected to the asset 100′ therethrough. The asset100′ may have an interface port 102 for connecting other devices otherthan a telematics device 200, such as a diagnostic tool including, butnot limited to, an OBD-II reader device.

Electronic Device Use Restrictions

In some jurisdictions, there are by-laws which restrict the use of anelectronic device such as a smartphone or a tablet while behind thewheel of a vehicle and the engine is running. While most vehicleoperators may comply with the by-laws, some will not. It is, therefore,advantageous to provide methods and systems for restricting features ofa vehicle operator's electronic device.

The present disclosure provides methods and systems for restrictingfeatures of an electronic device of a vehicle's operator when thevehicle's operator is behind the wheel and the vehicle's engine isrunning.

An electronic device may be a smartphone, a tablet, a laptop computer,or the like. FIG. 4 depicts an example of an electronic device in theform of a vehicle operator terminal (“operator terminal”) 450, inaccordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. The operatorterminal 450 comprises a controller 430, a network interface 420 coupledto the controller 430, one or more IMU sensors 404 coupled to thecontroller 430, and a memory 440 coupled to the controller 430.

The controller 430 is similar to the controller 430 of the telematicsdevice 200.

The network interface 420 is similar to the network interface 220 of thetelematics device 200 and it enables the operator terminal 450 tocommunicate with the telematics server 300.

The location module 406 is similar to the location module 206 of thetelematics device. The location module 406 reports the location of theoperator terminal 450 to the controller 430.

The inertial measurement unit (IMU) sensors 404 may compriseaccelerometers, gyroscopes, or magnetometers. The IMU sensors 404provide an indication to the controller 430 as to whether the operatorterminal 450 is generally stationary or in motion.

The memory 440 is similar to the memory 240 of the telematics device200. The memory 440 stores a number of software or firmware modulesincluding an operating system 401, an applications permission module411, a phone application 470, a driver telematics application 455, andother applications 460.

The operating system 401 configures the operator terminal for contextswitching between applications, may include firmware drivers, userinterfaces, and other modules. Examples of the operating system 401include Android, iOS, and Windows Mobile.

The driver telematics application 455 allows a vehicle operator toregister with a particular vehicle and report the registration to thetelematics server 300. Accordingly, the telematics server 300 maycorrelate the telematics data 212 collected by the telematics device 200coupled to the particular vehicle with the vehicle operator.

The phone application 470 allows making telephone calls includingemergency calls from the operator terminal 450.

The application permission module 411 may disable certain applicationsfrom running based on a command from the operating system 401. In someembodiments, the application permission module 411 may be an integralpart of the operating system 401 or a standalone component coupled tothe operating system 401.

The other applications 460 may be any type of application such as acalendar, email application, a web browser, a chat program, a socialnetworking application, and the like.

A block diagram of the telematics server 300 is shown in FIG. 5 . Thetelematics server 300 includes a controller 330, a network interface 320and a memory 340. The telematics server 300 may also be coupled to atelematics database 310 as shown in FIG. 1 .

The controller 330 is similar to the controllers 230 and 430 discussedabove with reference to the telematics device 200, and the operatorterminal 450.

The network interface 320 is similar to the network interfaces 220 and420 discussed above with reference to the telematics device 200, and theoperator terminal 450. The network interface 320 allows the telematicsserver 300 to communicate with both a telematics device 200 and anoperator terminal 450 over a network such as the network 50 as shown inFIG. 1 .

The memory 340 is similar to the memory 240 and the memory 440 discussedabove with reference to the telematics device 200 and the operatorterminal 450. The memory 340 stores software modules including theoperating system 301, the driver telematics module 355, the vehicletelematics module 322, and the applications permission module 311.

The operating system 301 manages task scheduling and hardwareinterfacing on the telematics server 300. Examples of the operatingsystem include Unix, Linux, and Windows.

The driver telematics module 355 communicates with one or more operatorterminals 450 to gather driver telematics information. The drivertelematics information includes a registration of the driver with aparticular vehicle, the hours-of-service (HOS) for the driver on thevehicle, as well as information from the operator terminal 450 includinglocation information and IMU data. The driver telematics module 355 mayreceive the driver telematics information, via the network interface320, from an operator terminal 450 of a vehicle operator. Theregistration may include an identifier of the driver and/or anidentifier of the operator terminal 450 of the driver. The HOSinformation may include the start time at which the operator will startto use the vehicle, the estimated end time at which their use of thevehicle is completed, and any breaks in-between. The locationinformation may be the location of the operator terminal 450 as reportedby a GPS module disposed in the operator terminal 450. The IMU data maybe accelerometer data or other sensor data indicating whether theoperator terminal 450 is in motion. The driver telematics module 355 maystore the registration information in the telematics database 310. Thedriver telematics module 355 may also make the gathered drivertelematics available to the applications permission module 311 as willbe described below.

The vehicle telematics module 322 communicates with one or moretelematics devices 200 to gather telematics data 212. The telematicsdata 212 may be comprised of asset data 112, location data, sensor data,connectivity data, and in some cases I/O expansion data. For example,the asset data of the telematics data may include RPM data indicatingwhether the vehicle's engine is running. The asset data may also includean indication as to whether a driver's seatbelt is fastened. Thelocation data may include GPS location in the form of a latitude and alongitude, or a location based on a connection to a network. The sensordata may include IMU data. The connectivity data may include the statusand identity of devices connected with the telematics device 200. Forexample, if a device such as the operator terminal 450 is connected tothe telematics device via the short-range wireless communications module270 or the serial communications module 280, then an operator terminal450 identifier and the status of the connection may form part of theconnectivity data received by the vehicle telematics module 322 from thetelematics device. The connectivity data may also include an indicationof a tap by an NFC tag on the NFC module 260 and a vehicle operatoridentifier corresponding to the NFC tag. In this case, the vehicletelematics module 322 may forward the vehicle operator identifier and avehicle identifier (obtained as part of the asset data) to the drivertelematics module 355. The indication of the tap may include a timestampof the tap. The I/O expansion data may include a type of I/O expander500 connected to the telematics device 200 and the identifier of anoperator terminal 450 connected to the I/O expander 500. For example,the I/O expansion data may include the identifier of any operatorterminal 450 connected with the short-range communications module 570and the serial communication module. Alternatively, or additionally, theI/O expansion data may contain the identifier of an NFC tag that wastapped at the NFC module 560. The identifier of the NFC tag may be avehicle operator identifier corresponding to the NFC tag. The vehicletelematics module 322 may forward the vehicle operator identifier and avehicle identifier to the driver telematics module 355

The methods and systems for restricting or disabling features of anelectronic device, such as an operator terminal, may be performed by atelematics server or by an operator terminal. FIG. 6 depicts a method600 by a telematics server. At step 610, the telematics server 300determines that the vehicle's engine is running. In some embodiments,the telematics server 300 determines that the vehicle's engine isrunning by receiving an indication from a telematics device deployed inthe vehicle. The indication that the engine is running may be an RPMwhich is greater than zero for vehicles including an internal combustionengine or a signal indicating that EV is active for EVs.

At step 620, the telematics server 300 determines that the vehicleoperator registered with the vehicle is in the driver's seat of thevehicle.

In some embodiments, determining that the vehicle operator registeredwith the vehicle is in the driver's seat comprises determining that thecurrent time is within the hours of service (HOS) of the vehicleoperator and determining that the electronic device of the vehicleoperator is generally stationary. For example, the telematics server 300may maintain, for example in the telematics database 310, a schedule ofthe currently registered driver with the vehicle including their HOS. Inthis case, if the current time is within the driver's HOS and theelectronic device of the operator is generally stationary, then it isdetermined the registered vehicle operator is within the driver's seat.

In other embodiments, determining that the vehicle operator registeredwith the vehicle is in the driver's seat comprises determining that thecurrent time is within the hours of service (HOS) of the vehicleoperator and detecting a presence of an occupant in a driver's seat ofthe vehicle. Detecting a presence of an occupant in the driver's seat ofthe vehicle may comprise receiving an indication from a telematicsdevice 200 coupled to the vehicle that the driver's seatbelt isfastened. For example, seatbelts may include sensors that are connectedto ECUs that send the sensor status on the CAN bus. The telematicsdevice 200 may read the status of the seatbelt sensor for thedriver-side seatbelt and send that information to the telematics serveras part of the telematics data 212. In some examples, a driver's seatoccupancy sensor (not shown) may be deployed in the vehicle andconnected to the telematics device 200 either directly or via an I/Oexpander. The driver's seat occupancy sensor may send an indication tothe telematics device 200 that the driver's seat is occupied. Thetelematics device 200 may forward the indication to the telematicsserver 300 for detecting the presence of an occupant in the driver'sseat of the vehicle.

In some embodiments, the steering wheel of the vehicle may include oneor more hand sensors which detect a vehicle operator's hands. The handsensors may be in communication with the telematics device 200 eitherdirectly or via an I/O expander. The hand sensors may send anindication, to the telematics device 200, that a user's hands aretouching the steering wheel thus indicating the presence of an occupantin a driver's seat of the vehicle. The telematics device 200 may forwardthe indication to the telematics server 300 for detecting the presenceof an occupant in the driver's seat of the vehicle. In some embodiments,the indication of the presence of an occupant in the driver's seat isonly sent if the hand sensors indicate that the steering wheel wastouched within a prior period of time. This excludes cases where thedriver has touched the steering wheel briefly then moved away from thevehicle, and thus ensures that only recent interactions with thesteering wheel are an indication of an occupant in the driver's seat. Insome embodiments, the presence indication of the presence of an occupantin the driver's seat is only sent if the hand sensors indicate that thesteering wheel was touched for a particular length of time. Thisexcludes the accidental touching of the steering wheel by a passengerwho is not in the driver's seat.

In some embodiments, determining that the vehicle operator registeredwith the vehicle is in the driver's seat comprises receiving, from atelematics device coupled to the vehicle, an indication that a dashboardcamera has captured an image of vehicle operator registered with thevehicle. For example, an I/O expander 500 may have an image sensor 590in the form of a driver-facing dashboard camera. The telematics device200 may receive the image of the vehicle operator as I/O expander data512 from the I/O expander 500 and send it as part of the telematics data212 sent to the telematics server 300. The telematics server 300 mayperform an image recognition method that compares the received image ofthe vehicle operator with a stored image of the registered vehicleoperator for the vehicle.

In some embodiments, determining that the vehicle operator registeredwith the vehicle is in the driver's seat comprises receiving, from atelematics device coupled to the vehicle, an indication that afingerprint sensor on a steering wheel of the vehicle has detected theregistered vehicle operator's fingerprint on the steering wheel. Similarto other sensors, such as the seatbelt sensor, the fingerprint sensormay send the detected fingerprint over the CAN bus and is captured bythe telematics device 200 and sent over to the telematics server 300.

In some embodiments, determining that the vehicle operator registeredwith the vehicle is in the driver's seat comprises determining that alocation of the electronic device of the vehicle operator is in closeproximity to a location of the vehicle and determining that theelectronic device of the vehicle operator is generally stationary. Insome embodiments, determining that the location of the electronic deviceof the vehicle operator is in close proximity to a location of thevehicle comprises receiving the location of the electronic device fromthe electronic device, receiving the location of the vehicle from atelematics device deployed in the vehicle, and determining that distancebetween the location of the electronic device and the location of thevehicle is less than a particular threshold. For example, the locationof the electronic device may be received, at the telematics server, fromthe driver telematics application 455 over the network interface 420 andthe network 50. The location of the vehicle may be received from thetelematics device 200 as part of the telematics data as discussed above.

In some embodiments, determining that the location of the electronicdevice of the vehicle operator is in close proximity to a location ofthe vehicle comprises receiving an indication from the electronic deviceof the vehicle operator that the electronic device of the vehicleoperator is connected to the vehicle via a short-range communicationsconnection. For example, the driver telematics application 455 may querythe operating system of the operator terminal 450 and determine that theoperator terminal 450 is connected to a vehicle Bluetooth system via aBluetooth connection. The driver telematics application 455 may send anindication to the telematics server 300 that the operator terminal 450is connected to the vehicle Bluetooth system. As a result, thetelematics server 300 determines that the location of the electronicdevice of the vehicle operator is in close proximity to the location ofthe vehicle. As another example, the telematics device 200 may send anindication to the telematics server 300 that the operator terminal 450is connected to the short-range wireless communications module 270 orthat the operator terminal 450 is connected to the short-rangecommunications module 570 of the I/O expander 500. In some embodiments,the operator terminal is connected to the telematics device over aBluetooth connection. In either case, the telematics server 300determines that the electronic device of the vehicle operator is inclose proximity to the vehicle.

Determining that the location of the electronic device of the vehicleoperator is in close proximity to the location of the vehicle maycomprise receiving an indication from the telematics device of anear-field communications (NFC) tap by a tag of the vehicle operatorwithin a prior period of time. For example, the vehicle operator may tapan NFC tag on the NFC module 260 of the telematics device or an NFCmodule 560 on an I/O expander 500. The NFC tap indicates that thevehicle operator is in close proximity to the vehicle at the time of thetap. The tap may be sent to the telematics server 300 by the telematicsdevice 200. The tap may include a unique identifier specific to thevehicle operator. The telematics server 300 may determine that thevehicle operator is in close proximity to the vehicle at the time of thetap and for a period of time thereafter. In some embodiments, the NFCtap may indicate that the vehicle operator is behind the wheel of thevehicle if the NFC tap is not followed by an indication that the vehicleoperator has moved.

Determining that the electronic device (e.g., the operator terminal 450)of the vehicle operator is generally stationary may comprise receivingIMU data from the electronic device and determining that the IMU data isbelow a particular threshold. For example, the IMU data may beaccelerometer data. Short-range motion that is detected when the vehicleoperator is handling the electronic device is considered below thethreshold. The IMU data threshold indicative that the device is notgenerally stationary may include IMU data that indicates that thevehicle operator is moving distances of a few feet or more. This mayindicate that the vehicle operator is walking around the vehicleperforming an inspection. In this case, it may not be desirable todisable features on the operator terminal 450 that the vehicle operatormay need while performing the inspection. The IMU data may beaccelerometer data from a 3-axis accelerometer deployed in the operatorterminal 450.

Determining that the electronic device (e.g., the operator terminal 450)of the vehicle operator is generally stationary may comprise receivingIMU data from the electronic device and determining that the IMU datadoes not match a pattern indicative that the vehicle operator isinspecting the vehicle. For example, the IMU data may represent motionin certain directions. Upon receiving the IMU data from the operatorterminal 450, the telematics server 300 may perform some patternmatching against a path around a vehicle indicative of a vehicleoperator inspecting the vehicle. For example, the IMU data may be fedinto a machine learning model that has been trained with IMU datacollected from operator terminals 450 while the vehicle operator wasperforming an inspection. Accordingly, the ML model may predict, basedon input IMU data, whether the vehicle operator may be conducting aninspection around the vehicle.

At step 630, the telematics server 300 sends a message to the electronicdevice (e.g., the operator terminal 450) of the vehicle operatordisabling at least one feature of the electronic device in response todetermining that the vehicle's engine is running and determining thatthe vehicle operator is in the driver's seat of the vehicle.

In some embodiments, sending the message restricting at least onefeature of the electronic device comprises sending a message whichcauses the electronic device of the vehicle operator to disable allfeatures except for the ability to make an emergency call. In this case,the telematics server 300 sends a message to the driver telematicsapplication 455. The driver telematics application notifies theapplications permission module 411. In some examples, all applicationssuch as the driver telematics application 455, the other applications460 are disabled. The phone application 470 may remain enabled or mayenter an emergency-only mode in which only emergency calls are allowed.In other examples, the driver telematics application 455 notifies theoperating system 401 of the message restricting the features of theoperator terminal 450. The operating system 401 may securely lock thedevice causing the user not to be able to use the device until thepassword is entered.

In some examples, the telematics server 300 only sends the messagedisabling features on the operator terminal 450 when the location of thevehicle is outside predetermined geofences. For example, the telematicsserver 300 may have predetermined geofences defined for the particularvehicle, the geofences each representing a warehouse, an inspectionstation, or a gas station. In this case, the telematics server 300 firstchecks if the vehicle is outside such geofences before sending themessage that disables features on the operator terminal 450.

In some embodiments, the telematics server 300 does not send a messagerestricting features on the operator terminal within a grace period thathas elapsed since the cranking of the engine. For example, there may bea 2-minute or a 5-minute period during which the operator terminal 450is not sent a message restricting features thereon. The grace period maystart with the cranking of the engine. In some embodiments if thevehicle is in motion, the grace period expires.

In some embodiments, the telematics server 300 does not send a messagerestricting the features on the operator terminal unless an imageindication received from the vehicle indicates that the vehicle is notat a particular type of location. For example, the vehicle may have aroad-facing dashboard camera, in the form of an image sensor 590. Theimage sensor 590 captures images and the I/O expander 500 sends thecaptured images to the telematics device as I/O expander data 512. Thetelematics device 200 may send the captured images to the telematicsserver 300. The telematics server 300 may compare the captured imageswith images of certain types of locations such as gas stations andinspection stations. The telematics server 300 may only send a messagedisabling at least one feature on the operator terminal when the vehicleis not a particular type of location such as an inspection station asindicated by the captured image.

In some embodiments, the driver telematics application 455 may allow theenabling or disabling of a particular mode that allows disabling thefeatures on the operator terminal 450 as described above. For example,the vehicle operator may choose to disable a feature that allows thedriver telematics application 455 to receive from the telematics server300, messages which may disable at least one feature on the operatorterminal 450.

FIG. 7 depicts a sequence diagram 800 of an embodiment of the presentdisclosure. At step 802, the telematics device provides asset data tothe telematics server 300 including an indication that the engine isrunning, or an EV is active. At step 804, the telematics serverdetermines whether the engine of the vehicle coupled to the telematicsdevice 200 is running. For example, if the asset data contained an RPMon a vehicle with an internal combustion engine (ICE), the telematicsserver determines that the engine is running if the RPM is above acertain value, such as 0. At step 806, the operator terminal 450 sendsthe vehicle operator's HOS and the operator terminal's IMU data to thetelematics server. At step 808, the telematics server 300 determineswhether the operator is in the driver's seat based on the HOS and theIMU data. If the engine is running and the operator is in the driver'sseat, then at step 820, the telematics server 300 sends a message to theoperator terminal 450 for disabling at least one feature on the operatorterminal 450.

In other embodiments of the present disclosure, FIG. 8 depicts a method900 performed by an electronic device, such as the operator terminal450. The method 900 is for disabling at least one feature of theelectronic device. At step 910, the electronic device determines thatthe engine is running.

In one embodiment, determining that the vehicle's engine is runningcomprises receiving, over a short-range communications connection, froma telematics device deployed in the vehicle, an indication that thevehicle's engine is running. For example, the operator terminal 450 maybe connected to a telematics device 200 via the short-range wirelesscommunications module 270. As another example, the operator terminal maybe connected to an I/O expander 500 over the short-range communicationsmodule 570 thereof. In either case, the driver telematics application455 of the operator terminal receives an indication from the telematicsdevice 200 that the engine of the vehicle in which the telematics device200 is deployed is running.

At step 920, the electronic device determines that the vehicle operatorregistered with the vehicle is in the driver's seat of the vehicle. Insome embodiments, the driver telematics application 455 determines thatthe vehicle operator is in the driver's seat based on the hours ofservice (HOS) entered by the vehicle operator in a user interface of thedriver telematics application 455.

In some embodiments, determining that the device is generally stationarycomprises the driver telematics application 455 reading IMU data fromsensors on the operator terminal 450 such as accelerometers as describedabove.

In some embodiments, the operator terminal 450 and in particular thedriver telematics application 455 may receive, from the telematicsdevice, an indication that the driver's seatbelt is fastened.Accordingly, the operator terminal 450 determines the presence of anoccupant in the driver's seat for each of the vehicles as discussedabove.

At step 930, the electronic device disables at least one feature of theelectronic device in response to determining that the vehicle's engineis running and that the vehicle operator is in the driver's seat of thevehicle. In some embodiments, a driver telematics application may send amessage to the operating system of the vehicle operator requesting thatcertain features be restricted.

The methods described herein may be performed by machine-executableprogramming instructions stored in non-transitory computer-readablemedium and executable by a controller.

It should be recognized that features and aspects of the variousexamples provided above can be combined into further examples that alsofall within the scope of the present disclosure. The scope of the claimsshould not be limited by the above examples but should be given thebroadest interpretation consistent with the description as a whole.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method comprising: sending, by atelematics device coupled to a vehicle, telematics data including assetdata and location data to a telematics server; determining, by thetelematics server, based on the asset data, that a vehicle's engine inthe vehicle is running; determining, by the telematics server, based onthe telematics data, that a vehicle operator registered with the vehicleis in a driver's seat of the vehicle; and sending, by the telematicsserver, a message, over a network, to an operator terminal of thevehicle operator for disabling at least one feature of the operatorterminal in response to determining that the vehicle's engine is runningand determining that the vehicle operator is in the driver's seat of thevehicle; receiving, by a driver telematics application of the operatorterminal, the message for disabling at least one feature of the operatorterminal; notifying, by the driver telematics application, an operatingsystem of the message for disabling at least one feature of the operatorterminal; and disabling, a plurality of applications based on a commandfrom the operating system.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein determiningthat the vehicle's engine is running comprises receiving an indicationthat the vehicle's engine is running from the telematics device.
 3. Themethod of claim 2, wherein the indication comprises arevolutions-per-minute (RPM) which is greater than zero or a signalindicating that an Electric Vehicle (EV) is active.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, wherein determining that the vehicle operator registered withthe vehicle is in the driver's seat comprises: determining that acurrent time is within hours of service (HOS) of the vehicle operator;and determining that the operator terminal is generally stationary. 5.The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the vehicle operatorregistered with the vehicle is in the driver's seat comprises:determining that a current time is within hours of service (HOS) of thevehicle operator; and detecting a presence of an occupant in thedriver's seat of the vehicle.
 6. The method of claim 5, whereindetecting the presence of the occupant in the driver's seat of thevehicle comprises receiving, from the telematics device coupled to thevehicle, an indication that a driver's seatbelt is fastened or anindication of a recent interaction with a steering wheel of the vehicle.7. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the vehicle operatorregistered with the vehicle is in the driver's seat of the vehiclecomprises receiving, from the telematics device coupled to the vehicle,an indication that a dashboard camera has captured an image of vehicleoperator registered with the vehicle.
 8. The method of claim 1, whereindetermining that the vehicle operator registered with the vehicle is inthe driver's seat of the vehicle comprises receiving, from thetelematics device coupled to the vehicle, an indication that afingerprint sensor disposed on a steering wheel of the vehicle candetect a fingerprint of the vehicle operator registered with thevehicle.
 9. The method of claim 1, wherein determining that the vehicleoperator registered with the vehicle is in the driver's seat comprises:determining that a location of the operator terminal is in closeproximity to the location of the vehicle; and determining that theoperator terminal is generally stationary.
 10. The method of claim 9,wherein determining that the operator terminal is generally stationarycomprises: receiving inertial motion unit (IMU) data from the operatorterminal; and determining that the IMU data is below a particularthreshold.
 11. The method of claim 9, wherein determining that theoperator terminal is generally stationary comprises: receiving inertialmotion unit (IMU) data from the operator terminal; and determining thatthe IMU data does not match a pattern indicative that the vehicleoperator is inspecting the vehicle.
 12. The method of claim 9, whereindetermining that the location of the operator terminal is in closeproximity to the location of the vehicle comprises: receiving thelocation of the operator terminal from the operator terminal; receivingthe location of the vehicle from the telematics device deployed in thevehicle; and determining that a distance between the location of theoperator terminal and the location of the vehicle is less than aparticular threshold.
 13. The method of claim 9, wherein determiningthat the location of the operator terminal is in close proximity to thelocation of the vehicle comprises receiving an indication from theoperator terminal that the operator terminal is connected to the vehiclevia a short-range communications connection.
 14. The method of claim 9,wherein determining that the location of the operator terminal is inclose proximity to the location of the vehicle comprises receiving anindication from the operator terminal that the operator terminal isconnected to the telematics device coupled to the vehicle via ashort-range communications connection.
 15. The method of claim 9,wherein determining that the location of the operator terminal is inclose proximity to the location of the vehicle comprises receiving anindication from the telematics device of a near-field communications(NFC) tap by a tag of the vehicle operator within a prior period oftime.
 16. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the message to theoperator terminal for disabling at least one feature of the operatorterminal comprises sending a message which causes the operator terminalof the vehicle operator to disable all features except for an ability tomake an emergency call.
 17. The method of claim 1, wherein sending themessage to the operator terminal for disabling at least one feature ofthe operator terminal comprises sending a message which causes theoperator terminal to securely lock the operator terminal.
 18. The methodof claim 1, wherein sending the message to the operator terminal fordisabling at least one feature of the operator terminal is done when alocation of the vehicle is outside at least one predetermined geofence.19. The method of claim 1, wherein sending the message to the operatorterminal restricting at least one feature of the operator terminal isdone when an image indication received from the vehicle indicates thatthe vehicle is not at a particular type of location.
 20. The method ofclaim 1, wherein sending the message to the operator terminalrestricting at least one feature of the operator terminal is done aftera grace period since cranking of the vehicle's engine has expired.